To impart an extended period of time during which cut flowers may appear fresh, the stems of the cut flowers are most frequently insertably received in, and supported by, a floral foam material such as the premier product marketed under the trade mark Oasis. Such floral foam material is capable of retaining and supplying moisture to the cut flower stems so that any buds, blossoms, leaves and even the stems themselves will remain fresh for extended periods of time. The moisture can, therefore, well be water with or without chemical additives to extend the life of the flowers. The use of the floral foam material also inhibits spillage. Because Oasis floral foam will retain the desired fluid without spillage, bouquets, or other displays, using such foam frequently do not require a container, although when a container is employed, the container will have side walls and a base wall that are impervious to the passage of liquid--primarily water.
One such foam filled container for presenting a floral arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,654 which issued on Nov. 28, 1995. That patent discloses a cut flower container having a shell that is water impervious and which surrounds the floral foam on the vertical sides as well as the bottom thereof. At least a portion of the top side remains open to facilitate receiving the stems of the flowers that comprise the floral arrangement. As will become apparent, that container does not have a structural configuration which lends itself to providing a bouquet in the nature of a floral sheaf.
With the foregoing introduction serving as a general background, attention may now be given to the considerations that led to the present invention. Historically, brides, and even their attendants, would carry a floral "sheaf"--i.e., a plurality of long stemmed, cut flowers that would be carried, or supported, in the crook of the arm. Quite often the stems of the flowers assembled as a sheaf were wrapped in tissue paper, generally a waxed tissue paper that was often green. In addition, a ribbon was often tied in a bow to embrace the medial portions of the long stems wrapped in the tissue paper and thereby hold the sheaf together. Many florists would also use a foil that could be molded by hand to conform to the exterior disposition of the stems. The foil was capable of being used alone but more commonly it was used in combination with waxed tissue and perhaps a ribbon tied with a bow.
As beautiful and as traditional as the floral sheaf has historically been, the use of floral sheaves has fallen into disfavor primarily because fresh cut flowers, even those that have been "hardened," will begin noticeably to wilt after only a few hours--and particularly in warm or hot weather--without continuous access to water. The short life one expects from a floral sheaf has been a major contributing factor in the replacement of floral sheaves with bouquets of relatively short stemmed flowers inserted in floral foam which serves to extend the life of the flowers. Relatively short stemmed flowers inserted in a floral foam such as the aforementioned Oasis brand foam which can, in turn, be supported in a cage that may be hand held. A representative support using such floral foam is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 2,765,585 issued on Oct. 9, 1956, to the assignee of the subject invention.
Whenever floral foam can be used, the flowers will maintain their fresh appearance for time periods measured in days rather than hours, but it has, heretofore, been highly impractical to use floral foam with sheaf-like floral bouquets. Even a relatively small mass of floral foam at the end of a long stem detracts from the desired appearance of a sheaf, and such use of a floral foam makes it awkward to carry and virtually impossible to camouflage.